Here's the latest happening in the luxury hotel world as told by JustLuxe's own Lena Katz. Got a question about luxury hotels, the travel biz, and where to stay? Send it in and we'll have Lena answer it.

You know when models go, “Oh, I eat tons of junk food and I just have this body naturally…” and you want to say “Yeah, RIGHT” and smack them?? Well, hottie tennis star Maria Sharapova is out to one-up all of them. She launched her own candy line, Sugarpova, to coincide with last year’s US Open, and is appearing at La Quinta Resort & Club on March 6th to introduce her goodies in person to Palm Springs crowds.

Sugarpova’s full line will be sold in the tennis pro shop and the candy shop Lollipops from here on out, with La Quinta being the first California resort and first Palm Springs retail outlet to carry the brand. “Sporty” tennis ball-shaped gum is anticipated to be the big seller, but we’re more curious about the Flirty Sours (tag line “Lips like sugar…”) and Chic gummies shaped like tiny handbags, shoes and such.

In terms of why exactly La Quinta is getting Sugarpova first and also getting tennis’ golden girl to do an in-person appearance… well, you can chalk it up to the tennis connection. With 23 tennis courts and former Davis Cup coach Tom Gorman leading up the resort tennis program, the resort is home-away-from-home for many tennis stars when they’re playing in the area, which they all will be March 4-17, for the PNR Paribas Open.

One of the most classic Christmas movies, that doesn't involve Santa Claus or elves or Tim Allen, is Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life. We don't like to get too nostalgic about the 'good old days,' but we imagine it must have been pretty magical going to one of those old-time movie theaters on Christmas day in 1946 and watching it for the very first time.

As it happens, the black-and-white classic very well might have been written at a hotel.

The Press-Enterprise recently published a piece about Capra's affinity for La Quinta Resort & Club. Apparently, the guy loved the place so much, he moved there permanently with his wife when he was 84. The PE reports:

"Frank, and his wife Lucille, always stayed in the same room while vacationing at the La Quinta Hotel — Suite 136 in the San Anselmo Casita — and their room is now marked with both a memorial placard and a memorial bench."

But could this also be the place where Capra wrote the award-winning script? According to his autobiography, the hotel (which is now a part of the Waldorf-Astoria collection) was his "Shangri-La for script writing" over the years. (Not to be confused, of course, with Shangri-La Hotels.)

What does Palm Desert's expansive La Quinta Resort have in common with rock band Van Halen? Absolutely nothing, save for three magic words: "Hot for Teacher." No, you won't hear the song blasting from a cabana upon arrival, but if you are a teacher, you can enjoy a well-deserved discount off your next stay.

The Hot for Teacher package, which runs through September 31st, offers teachers a Resort Casita at the rate of $100 per night, with a $50 dining credit and without the standard $27 resort fee. Booking online is easy and straightforward: There is a checked "Only For Teachers" box on the reservation page, and, on the next page, a convenient list of accommodations that fall into the discounted "Teachers Appreciation" category. Lest you try to cheat this promotion, know that you will need to show a valid teacher's ID upon check-in in order to take advantage of the deal.

While we managed to score an excellent rate at the La Quinta Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, Calif., by calling the hotel's reservations line instead of booking online, we actually ended up having to cancel. The reason? Our friends offered to house us for the holiday weekend and our little dog too. We just couldn't pass that offer up.

But we did stop in to visit other friends who were spending the weekend at the Waldorf-Astoria Collection property and we kicked it poolside with them for a while. The best part about La Quinta is that there are tons of small pools throughout the property, so you don't have to fight for pool chairs at the main pool. You can easily find a pool (or two) near your casita or spa villa and park yourself there.

However, if you do want drinks you will have to hit up the bar at the main pool. Prepare for some interactions with children if you do. Or a sighting of "Dr. 90210" Dr. Robert Rey, like we had.

There's a very good chance that in the future, we may not be making our next hotel reservation online. Why's that? Because recently we were quoted a rate by a human reservations agent that was more than 50 percent off the hotel's online rate and a rate found on a third-party booking site. And there was no begging, pleading or threatening involved at all.

Let us walk you through a recent booking experience at the La Quinta Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, Calif. We decided we wanted to get out of LA for a while and spend our Fourth of July weekend at the desert resort. We also didn't want to just shack up in any old room at the place. You see, we got spoiled last year when we stayed in a Spa Villa suite which had a full kitchen, a couple of balconies and access to a semi-private pool.

The only problem was that when we checked online, the suite was going for about $475 a night, not including the daily $27 resort fee.

While it's definitely the off-season for Palm Springs right now, it's also the best time to take advantage of cheap room rates at some of the desert's best hotels. We'll be rounding up some of the Palm Springs area's (including Palm Desert) most notable hotels this month. Got any suggestions or questions? Let us know.

We decided to take a spontaneous trip to Palm Springs with a few girlfriends this weekend. Forgoing the thought of sleeping on a friend's couch--or worse, the floor--we decided to hit up Hotwire to see what we could find.

And what we found and booked was a spectacular deal of $94 a night at the La Quinta Resort & Club, a sprawling Waldorf-Astoria Collection hotel made up of little casitas and villas in Palm Desert.

For realz. $94 a night. So we jumped in our friend's car and made the two-hour drive from Los Angeles into the dead heat of the desert.

La Quinta Resort & Club is one of our favorite desert getaways in Palm Springs. Actually, it's the only desert getaway we've ever taken but we thoroughly enjoyed our stay when we went.

Now the hotel is part of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection from Hilton Hotels and is offering a Discovery package (other hotels in the collection are also offering Discovery packages which are unique to the hotels' location.)

At La Quinta, the package includes a four-night stay for two in a Starlight Casita with a king bed. These rooms all have fireplaces and private patios with mountain views. Recently the resort put all new carpeting and 37" HD flat-screen TVs in all the rooms.

But you better like golf as the package includes two one-hour golf lessons and daily unlimited golf at one of the five championship golf courses.

There will be also spa treatments, a $100 gift certificate to any of the boutique shops on the premises, dinner for two at the Adobe Grill, and daily breakfast for two. Topping it off is an evening Jeep Tour to the San Andreas Fault and two tickets to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway which is a large cable car gondola that takes guests from the desert floor to the top of Mt. San Jacinto.

The package is priced at $3,200. To book, call 1-800-WALDORF or go online. Use the code P8 when making reservations.

Do not confuse this amazing resort near Palm Springs at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains with the little inns/motels found alongside USA highways, also called La Quinta.

Although it's primarily a golf spot, boasting 90 holes of "some of the country's best golf", the resort has also made a name for itself because of the 23,000 square foot spa.

The spa has close to 40 treatment rooms along with an outdoor relaxation garden, and all of the it's signature treatments were inspired by the area's Native American ancestors, like the Sacred Stone Massage.

La Quinta Club & Resort is a gem of a place but seemingly made especially for the elderly golfer / spa enthusiast / tennis player. Not to say there weren't young kids running around taking full advantage of the video arcade at the hotel's Camp La Quint but simply put: it's a geriatric's paradise.

Sure, the dry air, startling scenery of red mountain and rock meeting manicured green golf tees will charm anyone at any age and the large amount of activites does offer something for almost everyone yet there is something so distinctly ingrained in the place that it just can't stop screaming: SLOW DOWN and GO EASY. But not in that, relax and breathe deep zen way but in that crotchety-you-kids-could-learn-something-if-you-just-slowed-down kind of way.

There are some fabulous bits to the resort however. The multiple hot tubs and pools across the property beg you to relax after an active day. The three restaurants offer option but since the best one is pretty damn expensive the other two - one Mexican and the other serving passable american fare are often crowded and unsatisfying. Best bet is to book a casita with a kitchenette and cook then save going out as a splurge or rent a fun car and drive the 45 min to Palm Springs for a more tasty meal.

Not to say that the Resort isn't appealing for some (even those who have yet to go white on top) and for some it is just as it should be. The staff is very kind and the grounds are very attractive. But if you're young, at all restless and here's the real kicker: single, then you best play a few rounds of golf or spend a day at the spa and then be on your merry way.